Water Quality Legend

Current Status

Grey means water quality information for the beach is too old (more than 7 days old) to be considered current, or that info is unavailable, or unreliable.

Historical Status

When swimming season is over or when a beach's water quality data has not been updated frequently enough (weekly) it goes into historical status. This means that rather than displaying current data it displays the beach's average water quality for that year.

Green means the beach passed water quality tests 95% of the time or more.

Yellow means the beach passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time.

Red means the beach failed water quality tests 40% of the time or more.

Special Status

We may manually set the status for a specific beach if we have concerns about the sampling protocol, if there is an emergency, if monitoring practices don't exist or have recently changed, or other reasons that render this site "special."

Green means the beach has historically excellent or pristine water quality, but there is no current data.

Red means the water at the site has water quality issues or there is an emergency.

Grey means there is no current water quality information, the beach is under construction, there has been an event that has rendered water quality information unreliable or unavailable.

See the beach description for more information regarding their special status.

Posts tagged "Atlantic Ocean"

This group isn’t quite like the rest. Sure, +POOL has conducted intensive water quality monitoring for the past two summer seasons at four sites along the Hudson River in Brooklyn. And yes, they test for a spectrum of things, including enterococci, pH, and turbidity. But it’s why they’re collecting the data that’s so unique: +POOL …

Lazy rivers braided through swamps and salt marshes. Spanish moss and pecan trees veiling the full might of the Atlantic. Fat alligators and Blackbeard’s ghost. These are Georgia’s waters. We absolutely love having Georgia on Swim Guide. Thanks to the Satilla Riverkeeper’s water quality monitoring program we are now able to offer Swim Guide users …

We are happy to announce that Anne Arundel Community College has joined Swim Guide’s affiliate program. This is the first educational institution to come on board. AACC’s Environmental Center monitors river water quality at popular bathing sites and marinas along Maryland’s Back Creek and Rock Creek. The Environmental Center’s monitoring program is part of a …

On July 10th, 2013 Charleston Waterkeeper completed their first official sample run under the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) approved Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP). The focus of their QAPP is to let the public know the “swimmability” of several tidal creeks and hotspots for swimming, kayaking, SUPing, and sailing. Charleston …

Is it safe to swim in the river or Bay today? Rona Kobell of the Bay Journal explored this question with some of our Swim Guide Affiliates, Chris Trumbauer, West/ Rhode Riverkeeper; Dave Burden, the Virginia Coastkeeper & Fred Tutman, Patuxent Riverkeeper. We hope their answers empower you learn more about water quality concerns and …

Assateague Coastkeeper is using Swim Guide to protect beach-goers and paddlers in the area from water pollution. Here’s a taste of some recent media coverage:Swim Guide information comes from Worcester County, which monitors the bacteria level at Ocean City beaches; the U.S. National Park Service, for Assateague Island’s beaches; and Assateague Coastkeepers, for Coastal Bay waterways …

A nice shout-out for Swim Guide in the Bay Journal. Beach-lovers and swimmers in the Chesapeake rejoice! Get the full story here: Bay Journal – Article: Swim Guide app lets users know if local beach is safe to swim in.

In May, 2013, Eye on Annapolis profiled West/Rhode Riverkeeper’s water quality monitoring efforts:For countless residents and visitors, Memorial Day signals the unofficial start of summer – and the summer swimming season. Getting information about the water quality of our local waterways has just become a whole lot easier with the launch of the Swim Guide, …

On July 25, 2012 we are launching Swim Guide in new locations in the Eastern USA. New areas include Charleston SC, Connecticut, Greater Boston MA, Maryland/Chesapeake Bay, New York City, and the Shenandoah River Valley (VA, and West VA). Swim Guide now serves Alabama, Alberta, British Columbia, California, Charleston SC, Connecticut, Florida, the Great Lakes, …

ABC News covers the launch of Swim Guide in Charleston, South Carolina:The new smartphone app provides up-to-date water quality information at 27 points along the Lowcountrys coast. “It goes all the way north from Isle of Palms and all the way south to Seabrook Island and every beach in between,” said Charleston Waterkeeper executive director, …

Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper’s SPLASH Miami event was a huge success! Over the weekend, the community rallied together at the Biscayne Nature Center to celebrate swimmable water in Biscayne Bay. Kids and adults alike created works of art inspired by nature, learned about the critters of the sea, and went on a discovery walk through the …

The average American loves beaches, spending about 10 days per year by the water. The US EPA doesn’t want to pay to monitor beach health anymore, and has announced that it will cut millions of dollars in annual funding beginning next year. There are 3.5-million people getting sick each year after swimming in polluted waters, …

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Swim Guide shares the best information we have at the moment you ask for it. Always obey signs at the beach or advisories from official government agencies. Stay alert and check for other swimming hazards such as dangerous currents and tides. Please report your pollution concerns so Affiliates can help keep other beach-goers safe.
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